Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Some ignored the invitation and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. The rest laid hold of his servants, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged and sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, 'The feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy to come. Go out, therefore, into the main roads and invite to the feast whomever you find.'

We are all invited to the banquets of communion and eternal life. Both the sacrament and the afterlife are intrinsically tied to each other. The Holy Feast of the Blessed Sacrament prefigures the Heavenly Banquet of Life in Paradise. God wants all of us to come, whether good or bad, and to celebrate with His Son. All He asks is that we accept the invitation and prepare ourselves to attend. There are many temptations in this world that can keep us from accepting God’s call to join Him. We can become busy in worldly pursuits or enamored with mortal sins. He also requires that we prepare ourselves for the banquets of communion and eternal life by leading holy lives doing good and avoiding evil. He wants us to put our best foot forward in this life and come to the feast clothed in virtue.

How do we accept God’s invitation to the Eucharistic Feast? How are we preparing ourselves for the Heavenly Banquet? What can we do to avoid the temptations of the world that might lead us to declining God’s call or not preparing ourselves for these feasts?

O Lord, we accept your invitation and shall cloth ourselves in holiness.

Amen.

Eleventh Thursday of Ordinary Time

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

This is how Jesus tells us to pray. He makes it clear that our God is also our Heavenly Father. We are His children and as such we are called to do His Will on earth. In return, He sustains us with our daily bread, forgives us as we forgive, and delivers us from evil. We need all three of these things in order to grow in faith, hope, and love. We need the Body and Blood of Christ to nourish our spirits. We need to be merciful toward others so that our own faults might be forgiven. Lastly, we need to be delivered from temptation and evil because alone we would fall into sin, but with God at our side we can overcome every obstacle to living the Christ-like life.

Do all our thoughts, words, and works find their source in our Heavenly Father’s Will? Do we seek out the strengthening graces of the Blessed Sacrament as often as we can? Are we willing to forgive those who trespass against us and avoid temptation and sin?

O Lord, teach us how to make our lives a living prayer that give glory to your hallowed name.

Amen.

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.

Every day we have the opportunity to eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ in the sacrament of the Eucharist. If we work, we may not be able to do it every day in the morning, but at the very least we have an opportunity to do so during the Sunday liturgy. These daily or weekly feasts with the Lord infuse us with His Divine Life. Unlike the food we eat at our own tables, the Body and Blood of Jesus can consume us if we allow it to. We are blessed beyond all imagination through the Eucharist. This sacrament offers to us eternal life and salvation, if we are willing to let it transform us into Christ. What a gracious gift Jesus has given to us in His Body and Blood. May we never take it for granted or miss an opportunity to receive it.

When we partake of the Eucharist, do we truly appreciate the graces it gives us or the sacrifice within it? Do we give thanks to God for the gift of the Blessed Sacrament? Do we allow the Body and Blood of Christ to transform us into better people?

O Lord, we want nothing more than to eat of your flesh and drink of your blood so that we might have eternal life and be raised on the last day.

Amen.

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi)

The Teacher says, “Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?” Then he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready. Make the preparations for us there.

We all need to prepare ourselves for the reception of Jesus through the Eucharist. We might not wander through Jerusalem as the disciples did, but we need to wander through our hearts, seeking the place where we can unite ourselves to the Body and Blood of Jesus. It is through the Blessed Sacrament that we are united with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. When we partake of the Eucharist, we are not just reenacting the Last Supper, we are also making it truly present again. Jesus is with us during the Eucharistic celebration from start to finish. He remains with us afterward as well. We would do well to remember how important it is to prepare ourselves to receive Him, who died for us all. So the next time we are about the go to communion, let us make ready our hearts for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

How do we prepare for the Eucharist? What do we do before, during and after receiving the Body and Blood of Christ? How can we carry Jesus out into the world with us after the Mass?

O Lord, help us prepare our hearts for you.

Amen.

Seventh Thursday of Easter

And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me.

We are all called to be one with God and each other. Our baptismal promises unite us not only with the Holy Trinity, but with our brothers and sisters in Christ. We should make every effort to show our unity with God and His children. We should unite ourselves with the Mystical Body of Christ through the Mass, the sacraments, and our prayers for and with each other. The Mass is a wondrous gift to us and through it we are united in the Word of God and His Body and Blood. We share the good news and then we partake in our Lord and Savior’s greatest gift to us—the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. The Mass is one prayer we share with the each other and it unites us not only with the Church on Earth, but also the Church in Purgatory and Heaven. We are one with all those who have come before us, who are with us now, and who will come in the fullness of time.

Do we fully participate in the community of believers through the Mass? In what manner do we unite ourselves to God and His children through the Blessed Sacrament? How do we express our oneness with God and each other in prayer?

O Lord, we are one with you and each other.

Amen.

Third Monday of Easter

“Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.”

Jesus offers us the food of eternal life—himself. When we partake of him through the reception of His Body and Blood, we become sealed with the Holy Spirit. He gives us all the spiritual nourishment we need to endure to the end of our lives so that we can join him in the afterlife. We should try to remember this when we receive the gift of the Blessed Sacrament and do everything we can to prepare for Jesus coming into our hearts.

How do we prepare for the reception of the Eucharist? What can we do to make our hearts ready for Him? Do we reflect on the graces we gain through the reception of Him?

O Lord, give us the food of eternal life.

Amen.